Davide Tardozzi tips MotoGP rivals who ‘always complain’ to challenge Ducati at Balaton Park

Add as preferred source on Google

Ducati star Marc Marquez goes to the first MotoGP Hungarian Grand Prix since 1992 on the back of winning six successive doubles following a triumphant trip to Austria.

Marquez finally got the Austrian Grand Prix monkey off his back last Sunday, as the 32-year-old scored his first-ever win at the Red Bull Ring. It took the six-time champion eight tries to win in the foothills of the Styrian Alps. Yet he even won the Sprint and Grand Prix last week.

Now, the 2025 champion-elect goes to Balaton Park this weekend for the first Hungarian GP since Eddie Lawson won at the Hungaroring in 1992. Marquez has already sampled Balaton Park after Ducati held a private test using their Panigale road bike at the start of the month.

Francesco Bagnaia set the pace during Ducati’s test at Balaton Park, as the Italian just edged Marquez to set the fastest lap time. But the smart money is on Marquez leading the pack in the Hungarian GP, as the Spaniard seeks a 10th Grand Prix win and 13th Sprint win this year.

Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi thinks Yamaha ‘could be better’ at Balaton Park

While Balaton Park is a tight and slow stop-and-go circuit that only requires medium braking intensity, Ducati have been the class of the field this season and will be expected to lead the Hungarian GP. The track configuration may also suit the KTM RC16 and the Aprilia RS-GP25.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Ducati from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

But Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi feels the grip from the tarmac at Balaton Park can also bring Yamaha into play, despite the YZR-M1 being the worst bike on the grid last Sunday in Austria. Marquez won the Austrian GP with a 25.256s gap to Fabio Quartararo in just P15.

Tardozzi said, via SPEEDWEEK: “Yamaha could be better here. They always complain about a lack of grip. There’s a lot of grip here, so the M1 could work better.”

Factory Yamaha rider Quartararo led the Japanese brand’s efforts in the Austrian GP down in P15, ahead of teammate Alex Rins by 5.060s and Pramac pair Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller by 8.752s and 12.222s. Miller finished the Austrian GP a whopping 37.478s behind Marquez.

Fabio Quartararo has lamented Yamaha’s lack of grip throughout the 2025 MotoGP season

Yamaha majorly struggled for rear grip in Austria, with none of their riders able to make the M1 click with the Red Bull Ring-specific rear tyre that Michelin provided. The tyre cost each Yamaha rider on corner entry, through the turn and under acceleration – a ruinous mixture.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Yamaha from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy

So, Balaton Park providing more grip might certainly help the Yamaha and Pramac riders to put up more of a fight than they could in the Hungarian GP, as Tardozzi envisages. Yet a lack of grip has been a regular issue, with Quartararo citing grip as Yamaha’s main issue in April.

Despite the 2021 riders’ champion taking his and Yamaha’s fourth pole of the 2025 MotoGP season at the TT Circuit Assen this June, Quartararo’s Dutch Grand Prix was a “disaster” due to Yamaha’s lack of grip. So, it remains to be seen if Yamaha can threaten Ducati in Hungary.